LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant contributed to a
third-quarter collapse but raised himself and his teammates to
another level in a statement game.

Bryant scored 15 of his career-high 43 points in the final 12
minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the San Antonio
Spurs for a wild 109-100 victory in a game between the last two
NBA champions.

"I felt very, very weak. I was just totally drained after the
game was over," said Bryant, who left the Staples Center
immediately following the contest due to an upper respiratory
infection.

Losers of four of their previous five meetings with the 1999
titleholders, including a 91-81 setback on November 8, the
defending champion Lakers appeared primed to take the game by
the throat, racing to a 62-42 halftime advantage.

But the proud Spurs would not go away, scoring 16 of the first
18 points in the third quarter before taking a 76-73 lead on
David Robinson's dunk with 2:40 left in the period.

Bryant, who scored 27 points after intermission, took control
thereafter and did not look sick at all. The 6-7 swingman
buried a 17-footer and connected from 27 feet just before the
third-quarter buzzer, giving Los Angeles an 82-78 lead.

"At the end of the third quarter, I thought that shot was huge,"
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "I think that was the
biggest shot of the game. It was a one-point game at that point
and he knocked that down and we were just not aggressive on that
last play and that made it a four-point game. I thought that
gave them a lot of energy."

After missing a 21-footer to open the fourth quarter, Bryant
dunked, hit consecutive nine-footers and knocked down a
28-footer to open a 98-82 cushion with 7:34 remaining. Another
slam, a 21-footer and two free throws from Bryant helped the
Lakers hold on after another burst by the Spurs.

Shaquille O'Neal scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for
the Lakers, who did not have to face San Antonio during last
season's playoff run to the NBA title.

"Kobe played an awesome gamYI bůşĽ╔═üguard Ron Harper said.
"And when the game got tight, he made the big shots. So did
Shaq. This is going to be a hell of a series. They have a very
fine team."

"We all wanted to win," O'Neal said. "It was a long night, a
banging night."

Tim Duncan had 19 of his 24 points in the second half for the
Spurs, who slipped to 2-5 on the road. Duncan was absent during
San Antonio's first-round playoff series with Phoenix last
season due to an injured knee. The Spurs lost the series in
four games.

"We dug ourselves a hole," Duncan said. "Kobe played a great
game. You really have to give it to him. He hit all the big
shots that the Lakers needed."

Sean Elliott scored 19 points and David Robinson added 16 and 10
rebounds for the Spurs, who committed just nine turnovers but
lost the battle along the boards, 46-37. San Antonio shot 47
percent (38-of-81).

Horace Grant had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who
shot 51 percent (41-of-80) and rebounded nicely from Thursday's
121-88 drubbing at Seattle.

"The Lakers were coming out and doing what everybody in the
whole nation thought they would do and that is try to get back
on track, try to get last night's game out of their memory,"
Popovich said. "It looked like the whole world knew that excpet
the five guys dressed in black jerseys."

Los Angeles carried a 30-21 lead into the second quarter before
pulling away for the first time. O'Neal made a layup, Bryant
scored consecutive baskets, Harper drove the lane for an easy
score and Bryant added two free throws to open a 56-37 bulge
with 2:04 left in the first half.

Embattled reserve Isaiah Rider made two free throws 2.5 seconds
before intermission for the short-lived 20-point advantage.
Rider, who has been fined by the team for arriving late for
practices and games, played just two minutes.

"I thought we needed to have some real concise execution out
there and he's still a little bit of a novice out there," Lakers
coach Phil Jackson said. "We needed some guards out there, some
ballhandlers that really understood what we had to do."

Duncan hit two free throws to open the second half and Bryant
answered with a 15-footer before the Spurs took a serious chunk
out of the Lakers' lead.

Duncan and Robinson made consecutive jumpers before Avery
Johnson's basket and two free throws cut the deficit to 64-52.
Elliott hit two from the line and Duncan made a layup and follow
shot to get the Spurs within 64-58 with 8:11 remaining in the
third quarter.

Harper ended the run with a 10-footer, but Duncan made two
straight baskets and Elliott and Johnson offset two jumpers Č5
Bryant to make it 70-66 with 4:41 left in the period.

"We came out in the third period and didn't move the ball,"
Harper said. "We were just standing there and we gave them
every good chance to get in this game."

Elliott made a free throw, Robinson a free throw and Johnson two
more from the line as San Antonio forged ahead, 74-73, with 3:06
left in the third quarter.

O'Neal, who was 6-of-14 from the line, clanged two free throws
before Robinson's slam gave the Spurs a three-point lead and
forced Bryant to lift his teammates out of their funk.

"I wanted to see them dig their way out of it and find a way to
sustain," Jackson said when asked why he didn't call timeout
during the Spurs' run. "I knew the (TV) timeout would be coming
and we'd get a chance to talk about it."

"You see two teams that really want to win and compete," Spurs
guard Derek Anderson said of the budding rivalry. "We both know
what this means. We won at home and now they won at home. It's
a fight for playoff stability. Tonight was a good exhibiton of
how we should play against each other."